Tag Archives: Virginia Rometty

Our Top Ten Communicators List is all about Trust and Vision. Happily, we start with the Best list, where we honor those who communicate and lead well. Unfortunately, those who dominate the Worst list have garnered most of the attention in 2011 – for lack of trust on the high end and deception on the low end.

We have seen the fall of giants, as well as the sleaze of some we have never heard of. Just put these names together: Sandusky, Paterno, McQueary, Cain, Bialek, White, Fine, Boeheim, Sheen, Weiner and the list could go on and on to include CEO’s, politicians, Trustees, and celebrities. We name some of them in our Worst list, but we do not get into those tainted by the many sexual abuse cases that have reared their ugly heads in the last few months. Too much “he said, she said” and outright lying – we really yearn for those we can hear, trust, and follow. So here they are – on the Best list:

The 10 Best

1. Steve Jobs – perhaps the communicator of the decade, or century.

Steve Jobs was the rare one who created and developed vision, communicated it clearly and colorfully, and then led to completion. He has been on our Best list four times, was #1 in 2005, and presented his iconic intro of the iPhone in 2007. He not only transformed technology and the way we live, but he also transformed the way business communicates. Renowned for his Apple product introductions he moved the word “rock star” into the business world. For CEO’s, speaking will never be the same. No more Death by PowerPoint – he just used a few visuals, and then spoke from the heart. Well rehearsed, but real – authentic, and always with a message. Perhaps his greatest “speech” was at the Stanford University commencement in 2005. His message continues to echo and be a model for not only business, but the larger world. We will miss him.

4. Virginia Rometty – communicating on the fast track.

For the last seven years Fortune named Virginia Rometty as one of the top 50 most influential women (#8 this year) – for good reason. This year she became the first female CEO of IBM. And as bright as she was and is, it was largely her communications that elevated her. Leadership is executed through communications, and ‘Ginni’ is likeable, strong, memorable, and connects with large audiences in a very authentic style. She is a natural at incorporating SHARPs in all her communication, and does it skillfully and naturally. Their stock is at an all time high – and we doubt that it’s a coincidence.

7. Warren Buffett – years of consistent communications.

It’s been a long time coming – Buffett lands himself on the list for his consistently strong communications over the years. While he is an investor and businessman, the way he speaks and conveys his ideas have made him an icon. He even has spoken on the importance of getting training in speaking! People look to him for wisdom and sage advice. He’s a trusted leader, and known to say what he thinks, even if it’s unexpected and potentially unpopular. Most notably this year, Buffett raised eyebrows with his call for more taxes on the wealthy. And his credibility is supreme, as he was the leader who corralled a bunch of other billionaires to give away their $$$ to charity – leading off with personally donating the largest charitable donation in U.S. history of $31 billion. He puts his money where his mouth is. Although he doesn’t often give long speeches, he’s authentic and powerful when he does, contributing to his long-cultivated reputation as a respected thought-leader.

8. Christine Lagarde – speaking powerfully from the top of the financial world.

The 10 Worst

1. Anthony Weiner – poster child for deceptive communications.

There is a poster child for this year’s theme of deception and evasion that is so pervasive in so many of the worst communicators of 2011. Anthony Weiner was a respected congressman – elected as much by his communications as his deeds. Using that same confident style, he was filled with puffed up outrage when claiming his Twitter account was hacked by someone else showing his lewd photos. Turns out we were the ones to be deceived by his lies, and when he fessed up that it was he who tweeted, he continued to obfuscate, trying to hang on to his office. But he had to hang it up, as his communications this time did him in. He had no apology, in both substance and style. He ultimately resigned in disgrace – because of the photos sure, but just as much because of communications that lacked any degree of humility, credibility and above all leadership. We don’t follow liars very well.

2. Brian Harrison and Bill Stover – Solyndra execs just do not communicate.

It’s never a good idea to NOT communicate when you are under fire, in business as well as in politics and sex scandals. Brevity and effective diversion is one thing, stonewalling is something else. When you take the 5th, you are shoving your communications right slap in the face of the public – unless you perhaps can do it with a smile, or sense of regret. No regret here, as both Harrison and Stover show how closed communications will not further the cause – but will doom it. Such performance reminds us of a few other Worst Communicators we featured here, like Mark McGuire in 2005. Communicating effectively is most critical under the toughest pressure – best to practice before. And it helps to not be guilty…

This motley crew went on the defensive in the wake of their cell phone hacking scandal this year, communicating elusively and trying to get away with as much as possible. Father Rupert’s history of aloofness and arrogance caught up with him this year, especially as he brushed off his apologies to those affected by the hackings. Son Jim spoke most during their parliamentary hearings and found himself hissing like a cornered animal, only further highlighting his deception. To top it off, News Corp staff Rebekah Brooks, when announcing to her News of the World team that they’re jobless due to her mismanagement, spent most of the time talking about her own feelings – unsurprisingly, her staff pushed back on her arrogance. Guilty of bad journalism practices isn’t the only question here – these three are guilty of poor communication.

5. Rick Perry – it’s not just the one miscue, but the overall experience.

Rick Perry had the most publicized communication failure of the year with his brain freeze in remembering his third point in a very public setting. The Rule of Three is good, but you don’t want to say “There are three things…” in advance in a very public forum such as a Presidential Debate unless you know you will remember them. Or have them in your notes. So he could have topped the Worst list with that faux pax along with his early amateurish debate performances, marked by halting mannerisms, jerky style and hostile attacks. But he’s here in the middle because he recovered pretty well, mostly by poking fun at himself. So at least there’s a positive learning point here – the power of humor.

6. Brian Moynihan – not ready for primetime.

Bank of America CEO Moynihan has had several missteps in his first year handling the $billion behemoth, from the $5 debit surcharge to the foreclosure fiasco. And at a time when clear communications and leadership was required, he stumbled, most notably when causing an uproar over his excuse that BofA has a “right to make a profit.” You know you’re in trouble when you’re on a list of CEOs who need to be fired. Business leaders can’t ‘talk’ transparency – they have to live it, and communicate it. Although the returns aren’t in yet, Brian Moynihan has a long way to go to talk straight to re-establish trust with his customers and right the bank that so many feel wronged by.

7. Greg Mortensen – Three Cups of Deceit.

Communications built up the reputation and wallet of this author of the best selling “Three Cups of Tea”. He leveraged that success and began receiving high priced fees for keynote speaking. He actually wasn’t bad – and had a great message to tell about his humanitarian aid for Pakistan women. But that confidence and forward lean style disappeared when he was exposed by “60 Minutes” – to have lied, and possibly misused charitable funds. Nowhere is guilt more apparent in communicating style than in this clip where he is confronted by a 60 minutes reporter – it’s not just that he is caught off guard, it is his lack of eye communication, hesitation as well as subsequent behavior that shouts “guilty.” He was asked to resign, and this was followed up by an acquaintance writing the book “Three Cups of Deceit” that is outselling the best seller. Character and integrity are the base for the tripod of good communications.

For missing the leadership opportunities in the NBA, NFL and MLB we might dub them the three blind mice – but certainly not the three wise men. Although it wasn’t entirely the fault of David Stern, the NBA Commissioner helped the league lose a couple of months of their multi-billion dollar season this year. Under Bud Selig Major League Baseball lost hundreds of millions in one of the most devastating strikes of any league several years ago. We have no giants at the helm of the big three professional sports leagues – remember Pete Rozell, Ford Frick, Larry O’brien and Peter Ueberoth, to name a few. They were leaders who communicated, where now we have Roger Goodell of the NFL – he holds himself so meekly we rarely hear of him, but at least he averted a strike. David Stern has been here since 1984 – he’s been around the longest and may be the most offensive communication wise with his arrogance – holds his head high, pompously. Ironically, the healthiest league now is under the worst speaker of the three, Bud Selig, who was #4 on our Worst Communicators list in 2007. He tends to articulate as if his mouth is full of grapes. The Commissioners lead big strong athletes, and they need to be big, strong communicators.

9. Leo Apotheker – a bull in a china shop.

When one of the three key reasons you’re fired as CEO is bad communication, you’re going to make our list. Apotheker was known for going his own way, not communicating a clear vision for HP, not getting consensus and buy-in of his executive board, and standing at the helm as HP’s stock lost nearly half it’s value. The real nail in the coffin may have been his flopped August 18 announcement that HP would kill the Touch Pad and spin off the PC unit, a message that was unclear internally at HP and certainly to customers. Communicating both internally with boards and staff and externally with vision and promise is essential to great leadership. Apotheker fell short and lost a huge opportunity. You can’t be a bull in a china shop without crashing a lot of plates.

Communicating is a contact sport

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